Last night against Brooklyn, San Antonio Spurs' Tony Parker was one point away from his third 30-point game in a row. TP has been on a tear this season, especially while fellow All-Star Tim Duncan has been sidelined with injuries.

This debate came up last year, and deserves to be brought up again. Why isn’t Tony Parker getting any love in the MVP race?

For the last couple of years, the MVP has been LeBron James’ award to lose, and deservedly so. The guy is arguably the best player in the league, and there’s no telling where the Miami Heat would be without him. But it’s time we stopped handing the award to LeBron midseason, or saying it’s only between him and Kevin Durant.

I could spit off a bunch of stats showcasing why TP deserves to be in contention for the award, but all you really have to do is watch him play. Can you imagine the Spurs without Parker on the floor right now? He’s putting this team on his back, and carrying them to the best record in the NBA. The Spurs lost Duncan and Manu Ginobili, and they haven’t missed a beat. Parker is the biggest reason why.

"I think he should be in every conversation for any award that's going to be given," Popovich said. "I don't think that is really tough to see. I mean, there's a group of guys, but he should be in that group as one of the guys that's playing the best in the league."

Parker’s contribution to the Spurs hasn’t gone unnoticed by his teammates either.

"He's carrying the whole team, especially when Tim and Manu are out. He's doing everything on the court," said Boris Diaw.

Unfortunately, I don’t think Parker will win the MVP, no matter how much he deserves it. You only need to look at the All-Star voting to see the kind of national popularity he has. What Spurs fans should realistically hope for is that he just gets some recognition for the amazing job he’s done this season.